


Remember Us

by goodnightkisseu



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, Romance, Slice of Life, kpop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-16 08:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16950861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodnightkisseu/pseuds/goodnightkisseu
Summary: Before leaving on his schedule overseas, Seongwu pens a series of letters to his girlfriend. What are their contents? He writes of events throughout their relationship that he wants her to look back on and remember. But on the last day, after she reads the last letter, what possible surprise could he have in store for her?





	1. I Want You to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I last wrote a chaptered story (eight years! x.x), but I hope that this will be enjoyable for those that read it. Please feel free to let me know what you think!

Rowdy. That would be the best word to describe this dorm that was shared by eleven boys. Honestly, the only time that it was quiet was when all of them were passed out from their exhausting schedules, but today was not one of those days. The eleven of them were technically split between two different apartments, but on a day like today, when they were packing for their two weeks abroad, it didn’t matter who lived in which apartment as they ran back and forth, trying to make sure that they had everything they needed.

Yelling and laughter ensued as they boys played games and talked amongst themselves about all of the places that they wanted to visit or things that they wanted to eat. They talked all through the night… except for one. He was sitting quietly in his room, a stack of papers to his left. To his right were a stack of light pink envelopes, some already filled, others waiting to be sealed up with the letters that he would inevitably write. Next to the envelopes sat a small box and some ribbon, the male having every intention of placing the finished letters into the box and wrapping them up with the golden ribbon.

He had been concentrating so hard on the letters, putting his thoughts together in a concise and poetic way that he didn’t even hear the door to his room open. Jinyoung had come running in to search for something that Daniel had misplaced, and he was not expecting Seongwu to be in the room. Seeling the older male stopped him dead in his tracks. And that was when he realized… he hadn’t seen him for the last few hours.

“Seongwu-hyung, have you been in here the whole time?” Jinyoung asked, the volume from the living room even more noticeable now that the door was open, though Seongwu seemed unfazed.

“Yeah…” he answered softly, though his attention and mind were still on the piece of paper in front of him.  

Jinyoung stared quizzically at the older male. He had never quite seen him so lost in thought. “Shouldn’t you be packing too?” he inquired, wondering if maybe he just forgot that they were all leaving tomorrow.

With his free hand, Seongwu gestured at the suitcase that was across the room, all packed up. On top of it was his bag, as well as the jacket, mask, and hat that he would wear tomorrow. “I packed up my stuff yesterday…” he said, his mind still in another place.

Seongwu… got all of his packing done… early? Now that was something the younger male was not expecting. It only made him more curious as to what could have gripped the older male’s attention so furiously that he got things done before the rest of them. Gently, he closed the door behind him and ventured further into the room, over to Seongwu’s side. “What are you working on anyway, hyung?”

For the first time since Jinyoung found him, Seongwu finally pulled his attention away from the blank piece of paper in front of him. It was the first time in the last three hours that his concentration was finally broken. A small smile graced his lips. “I’m writing letters.”

“Letters? For whom?” he asked, now even more confused why Seongwu hadn’t gone out to join them in their packing extravaganza. How could writing letters be more important than the ridiculous things they were getting into in the living room?

“For the woman who stole my heart.”

“Your girlfriend?” Jinyoung asked, receiving another nod. Now he was even more confused. “Why would you write letters to her though? You can just message her while we’re traveling on our schedule. It’s not like you won’t be able to contact her while we’re away…”

Seongwu’s sincere smile grew even bigger at that moment. “I’m not writing these letters because I won’t be able to talk to her while we’re gone. I’m writing them because… well… there are some things that I want her to remember before I get back.

Jinyoung, still a bit confused but resigned to never fully understanding Seongwu and his ways, grabbed the thing that Daniel had asked him to look for before leaving the room.

And so, Seongwu stayed there for the rest of the night, penning the remainder of his letters to you…


	2. Remember When We Met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwu leaves the letters for his girlfriend to find. In his first letter he asks her to remember their earliest memory. The time when they first met each other...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is out a little later than expected. I'm still trying to figure out my voice for this piece, but I hope that everyone enjoys it. Please feel free to let me know what you think!

Four in the morning. That was the time that most your days would typically start. Some days you were unlucky and they would start a little earlier at three. On other days you were lucky and they wouldn’t start until six. Yet, today was just a typical day. Your alarm went off like it usually did and you reached over, trying to grasp for your phone and turn the cacophonous abomination off… if only for a moment before it sounded again. You snoozed your alarm about three more times before you were fully awake, knowing that you couldn’t put off starting your day any longer. So you rolled over onto your stomach and through sleepy eyes, you started looking through your messages.

The first few messages were from the company you worked for, updating you on your group’s schedule for the day. You were one of three managers for a girl group, and it seemed like there was a change in their broadcast performance times, shifting their later schedules earlier to accommodate for that. Following these messages were some from the other two managers, trying to coordinate with you about the best way to divvy up the girls’ schedules so that they would make it to all of their events on time. They had suggested that you take three of the girls across the city for their variety show filming while the two of them took the remainder of the girls to the fan-signing and then back to the company for dance and vocal practice. You let them know that you were okay with that before slowly sitting up in bed, trying to get your bearings. When you felt like you were awake enough to stand, you headed out of your room and towards the bathroom so that you could start your day.

Twenty minutes later you were out of the shower and had applied the first layer of your facial routine before heading out to the kitchen to make your daily liquid energy; coffee. Rummaging through your cabinet you pulled out the coffee grounds and got some water, starting the coffee maker when everything was all squared away before looking around for something to eat. Knowing that you hadn’t gone grocery shopping in over a week, however, didn’t leave you with many options, and you had to resort to a simple piece of toast with some jam for the time being.

As you were pouring your coffee into your cup that sat on the island opposite of the coffee maker, your eyes caught sight of something that you were pretty sure wasn’t there the night before. A small box wrapped in a lovely golden bow sat on your counter, just a little bit to the side of where you would place your coffee cup every morning during your daily routine. Honestly, this present greatly confused you. You didn’t remember bringing something like this home last night, though yesterday’s schedule was pretty jam-packed and you were rather exhausted afterward. Still, you felt like you would have remembered bringing home such a beautifully wrapped gift, wouldn’t you? So just where did it come from?

Letting your curiosity get the better of you, you gently picked up the box and examined it, noticing that it was fairly light in weight and that it didn’t sound like there was anything inside of it, at least, nothing was rolling around in there. Though it was out of your usual routine, you decided to abandon your coffee for the time being in favor of the gift and slowly unraveled the ribbon, gingerly removing the lid when you could do so. Doing so cautiously revealed to you that the small box contained a series of envelopes, all lined up neatly in a row. On top of it was a card, which read ‘ _To the lovely woman who stole my heart,’_ and in that instance, you knew exactly who had placed this box here, and a giant smile grew on your features.

This had to have been a gift from Seongwu.

But if it was, when did he even leave it here? You knew for a fact that it wasn’t here last night. The island was on your way into your apartment and that was where you usually dropped off your keys. You definitely did not see it last night. So did he drop it off earlier? But if he did, how did you not wake up at the sound of your door opening? Were you that out of it? Not only that, but did he just drop it off and then leave immediately after? This particular thought made you sad, as you knew that he was leaving for his overseas schedules. Knowing that you could have seen him one last time before he left, but failing to do so, made you a bit sad. Yet, you tried to not let that bother you as you flipped the card over to read the back, the contents of it making you giggle.

_Surprise! You didn’t see this coming, did you? We’re going to be away from each other for a bit longer this time around, and I guess I’m just feeling a little emotional about it because we’re really close to the holidays. Even though we can message each other any time that we want, I also wrote you some letters! Yes, I know it’s cheesy and that you’re totally going to make fun of me for it when I get back. Don’t even deny it, because I know it’s coming._

_But!_

_These aren’t just any letters. In each of these twelve letters, I’ve written about some of our most memorable memories together. I guess you can call them our greatest hits? I know, I know it’s cheesy, but these memories are really important to me. So, for the next twelve days, I want you to read a letter each day and think back on the particular memory I mention. I swear it’ll be worth it! So please do it for your Seongwu that you love so dearly!_

_I can’t fit anything else on this card, but please start with the first letter today! Thanks, babe~!_

Though Seongwu wasn’t wrong and this was extremely cheesy even for your own boyfriend, you had to admit that the idea was pretty adorable. He chose twelve memories that he wanted you to remember and wrote about them, just for you. The amount of effort that he put into this made your heart warm. You knew that Seongwu was actually quite the romantic at times, but he didn’t really like to show it outwardly. But every now and then, he’d plan these events for you, and you couldn’t help how each one of them just made you love him even more. This one was no exception.

So, complying with your boyfriend’s request you grabbed the letter that had today’s date written in the middle of it, quickly put a bit of milk into your coffee before sitting yourself on the couch, ready to see what the first letter had in store. Slowly you opened it up, not wanting to ruin the pretty envelopes he had picked out and pulled out the piece of paper, your eyes scanning the contents of the letter.

_Ah, I knew that my lovely girlfriend would listen to me and open up the first letter! Congrats! You are the official owner of all of my love and devotion! But, I actually want you to think back to a time when we weren’t together yet, when we barely knew each other. Today, I want you to think of the time when we first met._

_You still remember it, right? I was just starting at this company, switching over from my last one. I had all of the dreams and aspirations that anyone does when they first become a trainee. Thing was, I was really bad at choreography. Like, really bad. The teachers would yell at me all of the time for not being able to keep up._

_But then one night, a beautiful angel came in and helped me learn the routine so that I didn’t make a complete fool of myself the next day. And that beautiful angel… was you! I’ve always been so grateful to have you by my side helping me through things. I’m so very grateful to have met you…_

_I hope you have a wonderful day, my love._

_\- Your Seongwu_

You couldn’t help but smile while reading his letter.  As much as you meant to him, he meant a lot to you as well. Though he was grateful to have you there to help him through things, you were also grateful for him. He was definitely the more positive and outgoing one between the two of you. Whenever you were having a hard time and refused to tell him about it, he would pick up on it and ask you himself. He knew that you didn’t like to bother him with your problems, so he always took the initiative. He was also very sweet and loving, and though the two of you weren’t perfect by any means, you felt like you worked well together, complemented each other well.

Though you had to confess, it was pretty fun thinking back to that time three years ago when the two of you had met. It was back when you still thought that you wanted to be an idol. Along the way you had changed your mind, realized that you would much rather be behind the scenes than in front of all of the cameras. Still, you were glad you had tried it out because, not only did you learn that it wasn’t for you, but it was also how you had met Seongwu.

You started training about two months before he had joined the company. Learning the ins and out of trainee life was hard, but you quickly adapted to the strange hours and the rather tough expectations. You made some friends when you had first started, some trainees that had also started around the same time you had, as well as a couple that had started earlier.

“The new trainees start today! Have you gone to see them  yet?” Hyewon asked as she came running up to the group of girls.

Miyeon shook her head, but she looked equally as excited. “Not yet, but I wonder if we’ll get more female trainees this time. It would be nice to get some more girls around here. Though… I won’t complain if there are cute boys too,” she said with a giggle, making you chuckle at her response.

“Then let’s go find out!” Hyewon urged, pulling Miyeon and the other girls with her, who evidently also dragged you along.

Though, it seemed like your little group wasn’t the only one that had decided to great the new trainees. Some of the others were already there, chatting amongst them. As soon as your group entered the room as well, you were greeted by some of the other trainees and were instantly invited into different conversations, your little group dispersing as soon as it had formed.

Dongjun, one of your closest friends had pulled you into the group he was talking with and promptly introduced you. The new trainees introduced themselves to you as well and you did your best to commit their names and their faces to memory. And that was when you met him. In his baggy clothes that were definitely too big for him. With that beret on that covered his messy hair, he gave you a toothy smile and introduced himself as, “Ong Seongwu.”

You had told him later that you had actually found him quite cute when you had first met him, but you were just unwilling to say so. Seongwu, being Seongwu, teased you about it endlessly, he still did, calling himself ‘that handsome trainee that caught your eye’ but you supposed that he wasn’t wrong either.

After meeting him that first time, you didn’t really have many interactions with Seongwu after that. You would greet each other in the halls if you happened to catch either other’s glances, but you had probably only spoken to each other on one other occasion when you were waiting for a practice room to clear out. However, even though you didn’t interact with him much, you definitely heard about him… a lot. The girls in your little friend circle were head over heels for him, and would always come back with new information that they had learned about him. They had heard from some of the seniors that he wasn’t doing so great in his choreography lessons and that had become the topic for the night.

“He’s really such a great dancer, but it’s a shame that he isn’t doing better in the choreography sessions,” Hyewon said with a pout.

“Is choreography just not his specialty?” you inquired, somehow getting yourself sucked into this conversation. Honestly, you probably knew more about Seongwu than you ever needed to know, but here you were.

“Unnie, he’s such an amazing freestyler, but for some reason, Dongjun-oppa was telling me that he just can’t grasp choreography,” Miyeon said. “Oh, maybe unnie could teach him. You’re pretty good at choreography!”

You made a bit of a face. “Miyeon, I’m not that good. I shouldn’t be teaching anyone anything,” you countered, looking back down at the papers in front of you.

“I don’t know, I think you’re pretty good. Maybe you could help him to not fail his evaluation at the end of the week,” Eunbi chimed in, giving you a bit of a devilish smile. You didn’t like it, and you had no idea what it meant.

“Oh! Eunbi is right! If you can help him, then he’ll definitely pass. You have to do it. You have to help him stay!” Hyewon pleaded.

You never liked being in this sort of situation, and instead of dealing with it, you just politely excused yourself, saying that you needed to go and practice the new song that you were learning for your own evaluation.

And you really did have every intention of doing so… at least, until you passed by the practice rooms and realized that one of them was still occupied. Your curiosity got the better of you and you walked over to it, peeking in through the little window in the door. And you were a bit surprised to see who was there.

Seongwu.

You wondered how long he had been there. Usually, the only people that were here this late were the trainees that had been around for a bit longer. A lot of the newer trainees didn’t usually put in this much time. Or rather, if they couldn’t cut it here, they would just find a different company. But he was… he was really working hard. But you could see why everyone was so concerned about him too. As you watched him through the tiny window, you could see that he was going through the motions but would often have a hard time if there were too many connecting parts. When sections would pick up, he’d get a little noodlely with his movements. They weren’t nearly as crisp and clean as some of the other male trainees.

Your heart ached a bit while you watched him. You could tell he was putting in an effort, but he just wasn’t getting the results that he was expecting. Though you didn’t want to admit it, your friends were right. It would have been a shame if he failed. And at that moment, against your better judgment, you slowly opened the door to the practice room, letting yourself in quietly, trying not to disrupt him mid-routine.

When the song ended you slowly approached and made yourself known. “Um excuse me…” you started, the male in front of you almost jumping five feet into the air. As soon as he had heard your voice he turned around and looked at you, eyes wide. You weren’t quite expecting this reaction from him, but still, you took the opportunity to approach him. As he got a clearer look at your face, you could see that he recognized you, and this seemed to embarrass him.

“I-I didn’t expect anyone else to be here so late,” Seongwu said nervously. He thought that everyone would have headed back to the dorms at this hour.

“Usually there isn’t anyone here, but I wanted to practice for my vocal evaluation so I stopped by. I saw the light on here so I wanted to see who else might still be around,” you explained, watching as his eyes got a bit wider, his cheeks turning a tint of pink.

“H-how long have you been here?” he asked, wondering how much of his fumbling you had seen. He knew that no one really saw him as a good choreography dancer, but it was still embarrassing. He didn’t like being bad at something, but honestly, he wasn’t sure if this was a hurdle he could overcome on his own.

Part of you had thought about telling the truth, that you had been watching him dance for the last couple of songs. But you decided against it as a little white lie might ease his fears a bit. “I haven’t been here that long. Maybe for about half a song?” you replied, watching as he seemed to relax a bit, upon finding out that you hadn’t seen all that much.

“I’m really bad, aren’t I…” he stated. It wasn’t even a question at this point. He had resigned to how inexperienced he was at this type of thing. He just needed to do better.

“Y-you’re not that bad…” you responded, but even you could see that he didn’t believe you. And at that moment, you felt the need to help him. It wasn’t because your friends had asked you to, or that he was cute, but you could tell that he was really working hard at this. It was something that he was passionate in, he just needed a bit of help.

“Come on, you don’t have to lie to be nice. I know I’m bad and that I need to do better…”

“Then let me help you,” you suggested, and though you could see the hesitation in his eyes, you could also see his willingness to learn. And without thinking about it any further, Seongwu accepted your help. The two of you stayed and learned the dance into the early hours of the morning.

And that was how you had met and befriended Seongwu…


	3. Remember When I Confessed To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In his letter for the day, Seongwu hints a time during their trainee days when they had to learn a couple's routine together. But what exactly is the memory that he wants her to remember?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My posts have been a little late for these last few days, but I hope that I can play some catch up this weekend. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It will probably remain a favorite of mine to be honest. Please feel free to let me know what you think!

You would have been the first to tell Seongwu that his idea was extremely sappy. But even so, you had to admit that, thinking back on your relationship was actually kind of fun. It made you realize of how amazing it was that your paths had crossed when they did. Because honestly, if the two of hadn’t met at that time, you probably never would have met each other. You actually weren’t even sure if you’d even be a manager if it wasn’t for meeting Seongwu. A lot of things, both in your relationship and your lives had come from meeting each other, influencing each other, and you had to admit, it was an interesting thing to think about.

As your wonderful boyfriend had instructed, you pulled the next envelope from the box and stared at it momentarily. You gently ran your fingers across the date that Seongwu had written on it, your mind wondering what you should do. You had considered reading it before work with your coffee like you had the last one, but strolling down memory lane almost made your late for work yesterday. So, even though it was what you wanted to do, instead of starting your day with the letter, you decided to save it so that you could end your day with it. On your way into your room to change you placed the envelope on Seongwu’s pillow, as a way to remind you to read it that night.

After changing and getting all of your things together, you found yourself back out in the living room, pulling on your shoes and squaring everything away so that you could leave your apartment to pick up the girls for their schedule. Before leaving you quickly pulled out your phone and sent a message to Seongwu, realizing that you hadn’t replied to his message from the night before. You let him know that you were having fun with his corny letters and that you couldn’t wait to see what the next one had in store for you when you came home from work that night. With that message sent, and knowing that you wouldn’t get an instant reply from him with how busy his own schedule was, you slipped your phone back into your pocket and headed out the door…

As expected, your day had been a busy one, but only because of the two back to back fan meetings that day. The girls were exhausted, sleeping the entire way to both events in the car, and you as a manager were also quite exhausted from having to keep a close eye on fans during both events. Most of the fans were pretty respectful, but there were definitely some that got a little handsy or who were trying to test their luck. Still, both events ended smoothly and you eventually found yourself at home, kicking off your shoes and just collapsing on your bed. You laid there momentarily before you rolled onto your side, looking at the empty space next to you. Ever since Seongwu had become a member of Wanna One, you had definitely been seeing him less. Before that, he would be over constantly, sometimes even home before you were. And as soon as he saw how exhausted you were, he’d wrap you up in his arms, and smother you in his hugs.

Lately, this had been happening less, and if anything, he was far more exhausted than you were. Whenever he’d stop by, you’d advise that he get some rest, even if all he wanted to do was to cuddle up and make you feel better, you tried to put him first. The thought made you a bit sad though. When was the last time you had seen him? He had been away for so long, only being able to stay for a couple of hours before he snuck out while you were asleep. It made your miss him greatly, his presence, his scent, his everything, but you supposed it would be a while before you could even plan something together now that he was overseas.

As your hand gently reached out to touch his pillow, your fingers touched something that felt like paper, and at that moment you remembered. His letter. You had left it here to read when you got home. Suddenly, you felt your fatigue start to wane as you reached over to the bedside table and flipped on the light. Once the room was lit enough, you settled yourself back against the pillow, and opened his letter, pulling out the white sheet of paper and slowly unfolding it, scanning its contents that read:

_My love has made it to the second day of my shenanigans! I applaud you, and will probably owe you big time by the time you get through all twelve of these letters._

_Anyway, do you remember that time, when the instructors paired us off to practice a couple’s routine because they kept saying that it would happen at some point or another during our idol careers? Everyone, of course, was trying to switch their partners around depending on who they like or who they didn’t like, but I still remember how lucky I was to get you to begin with. We were really close back then, and getting to do the dance routine with you really eased a lot of my concerns._

_But also, I was glad because there was something that I wanted to tell you. I had been holding it back for a very long time but I had made it my mission to confess to you before the end of it all. You remember it, don’t you? In that practice room, late at night?_

A smile graced your lips as you thought back to that moment. After you had helped Seongwu pass his first choreography evaluation, he had tried to make it up to you. He had offered to buy you lunch or even a couple of cups of coffee, but you had turned them all down. You told him that you didn’t do it to be repaid, but because you wanted him to do well. You let him know that a lot of the girls were hoping he would pass, to which he made a joke about his looks. Though you would normally find this to be a bit conceded, he did so in a way that kind of poked fun at himself, and that was a bit endearing to you.

After that point the two of you started spending more time together, doing more than just greeting each other when you ran into each other. You started to talk, and your friendship grew from there to the point where you were practically inseparable. You spent a lot of time together, and though you didn’t think much of it at first, you soon realized that there was something else there. You weren’t sure what it was, but you knew for a fact that you were definitely starting to see him as more than just a friend, and that was always dangerous territory.

Thing was, apparently it wasn’t just you that was starting to see this. The other trainees, particularly your friends, were seeing it too. They would comment on how happy you seemed after talking to him, or about how you could sometimes seek him out if you had a question about something. They also said that Seongwu did the same to you, and said that they were jealous of your blooming relationship.

“I wish that one of the guys would take an interest in me in the way that Seongwu takes interest in you…” Miyeon said one day when your and the others were just sitting around trying to pick out a song to learn for your vocal evaluations.

You looked up from your list after having crossed out some songs with raps in them, raising your brow at the younger female sitting next to you. “What are you talking about Miyeon?”

“Oh come on, unnie. Seongwu-oppa obviously likes you. He’s so flirty with you,” she insisted.

“Flirty how?” you countered. You had felt it too, but you just thought you were seeing things.

The young girl thought about it for a moment before speaking again. “I mean like you know how he’ll come up to you and gently tap your shoulder to get your attention? He doesn’t do that with anyone else. Or the way that he’ll wait for you to show up before he joins everyone in the practice room. He definitely feels something for you,” she hypothesized, taking a sip of the smoothie in front of her.

“We’re just friends,” you replied, though you had noticed the shift in Seongwu’s behavior as well. Or the way that he would bring food for the two of you to share on nights when you were practicing late, even though you knew that he had finished early.

“I have to agree with her. There’s something going on and if it’s anyone that’s not noticing it, it’s you,” Eunbi interjected, but you waved the idea off, going back to take another look at your list before you realized that it was time for your couple’s dance practice with Seongwu…

Your practice was the same as it always was. Dancing with each other felt easy. It felt… right. Though, you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t thinking about the things that your friends had said earlier. Was he really nicer to you? You didn’t think so, but they seemed to think there was something up. And truth be told, you would have been okay with it. You actually did like him, but you could never tell how he felt about you so you kept it to yourself for the most part. But it would have been nice to get a sign as your friends had seen though. It would really just give you the push to say something yourself.

About three hours later the two of you collapsed on the group in complete exhaustion. About two hours in the two of you finally managed to get through the entire routine. It was still full of mistakes of course, but now you could work on ironing those out. A week of hard work was really doing amazing things for both of you. Progress was really showing. Though, honestly, couple dances were hard. Not only did you have to learn your moves, but you also had to learn to dance in sync, or to complement your partner. It would be a lie if you said that you and Seongwu hadn’t crashed into each other more than a hundred times during this entire endeavor. It had been worth it though.

Also, just dancing with Seongwu… it was different. You hadn’t really understood what your friends were talking about until that night. Though you told yourself that Seongwu only held you the way he did because it was a couple’s dance about a couple, you definitely felt something. And the way you felt about him also made it hard to think clearly at times.

“I think if we keep this up, we can definitely have this routine polished by the time we have to showcase it,” you said with a small smile, your head resting against the hardwood floor. It felt cool against your skin, and it was a welcomed feeling after how much energy you just spent.

Seongwu nodded. “Yeah, I think if you just work a little harder, we’re going to be great. I mean, because I’m obviously already perfect,” he said matter-of-factly. You knew he was only teasing, but you still rolled your eyes at him, something that you weren’t sure if he caught as he was also on his back looking up at the ceiling.  

“Okay, king of choreography, I’ll work harder so that we can both be perfect. You don’t have to clean up those messy steps of yours in the middle at all,” you retorted, making Seongwu burst out in a fit of laughter at your seriousness. His loud guffaw only made your laugh in return and the two of you just laid there, laughing at your ridiculousness when you were together.

Once your laughter died down, the two of you continued to lay there in silence, just glad to have a moment to relax in your busy lives as trainees. You had other talents that you had to get better at and oftentimes, you didn’t get any downtime as you had now. This was nice, and it was nice lying here together.

Seongwu however, was the first to break your comfortable silence. “Hey, can I tell you something?” he asked. His tone and words were usually rather silly, but today, he was taking a more direct approach. What he had to say was important, and he knew that hiding it behind a joke was only going to make him seem insincere.

“Of course you can.  You know I’m always here to listen. What’s up?” you asked, your eyes still fixated on the low lights hanging from the ceiling.

“I like you,” he said honestly. His words were simple and straightforward. He didn’t bury them in a joke or give a long drawn out speech. He just… said it.

Truth be told, even with everything your friends had been saying, you didn’t think much of Seongwu’s statement. He had implied that he liked you as a person before and you thought this was just another one of those moments. So instead of being surprised by his statement, you gently rolled onto your side to look at him. “I like you too, Seongwu,” you said, parroting back his works to him.

But Seongwu wasn’t satisfied with your answer. He knew that you didn’t quite understand what he meant. So, he rolled onto his side as well, the two of you now face to face, only a couple inches from each other, your eyes locked in a gentle stare. “No, silly. I _like_ you,” he said again, emphasizing the word ‘like.’ And though it seemed silly, his emphasis on the word caused something to click in your brain, and a pink tint crept onto your cheeks as a result.

“Wait, you what?” you asked, now feeling extremely embarrassed being so close to him and also being a bit slow on the uptake. Your friends had been right after all.

Seongwu, seemingly amused by your reaction pulled himself a little closer to you, never quite taking his eyes off of you. “What, do I have to say it in another language or something? I said I like you,” he repeated himself, very relaxed with his words. He didn’t make a fuss with them. They were just there as if they were just an everyday statement. He liked you.

Though his confession had indeed registered to you, it seemed that your brain was still trying to work through it all. “But, since when?” you finally managed to ask, your words finding their way back to you.

He chuckled, finding your confusion endearing. You always seemed so strong, so level-headed that it was rather cute to see you fumbling with your words. Though your question was not one he had a good answer to. “I mean, I’m not really too sure myself, but does it matter? I just know that I like you. Isn’t that enough?” he asked softly.

“I mean… you feel the same… don’t you?” he added. “Unless I’ve been reading your signals incorrectly this entire time…”

Oh, he had definitely been reading your signals right. And everything settled in for you at that moment. It settled in that this boy in front of you liked you, seemingly as much as you liked him. He was confessing to you, and it would be wrong for you to leave him hanging. “You caught me. I like you too,” replied with a smile.

Seeing that smile on your lips filled his heart with a certain warmth, and throwing caution to the wind, he gently leaned towards you, his forehead against yours, your noses gently touching. “I’m glad,” he whispered quickly before giving you a gentle kiss, expressing his emotions in a way that his words couldn’t seem to…

While you laid quietly in your bed, you couldn’t help but think back to that kiss. It was so soft and tender, so gentle. He just effortlessly leaned in, in a way that only he could to make the butterflies in your stomach rise. And every kiss with him since would often evoke this type of feeling within you. It didn’t take a lot to make you fall for him, and you still felt that way about him now.

The subconscious thought of his lips against yours brought your fingers to your lips as you gently traced the area where his lips would normally occupy. And as expected, when you went to bed that night, you couldn’t help but think about him… and just how much you missed his lips against yours…


	4. Remember Our First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls tease you that you seem happier lately, and Seongwu asks you to remember your first date...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is a day late, but I hope that you all still enjoy this! Please feel free to let me know what you think!

“Unnie, you seem a lot happier lately. Did something good happen?” Miyeon asked as she leaned in to get a good look at her manager, and friend’s, face. Amongst the girls that you spent a lot of time with during your trainee days, Miyeon and Eunbi were the two that ultimately ended up debuting in the girl group that your company was putting together. Hyewon was working as a staff member for the company’s new boy group, and a couple of the others had found jobs within the company, were still trainees, or had left to pursue other dreams. The four of you still met up from time to time when Hyewon’s schedule synced up with yours, but things were definitely different now. The four of you were no longer those starry-eyed girls from three years ago.

“Do I?” you inquired, answering the younger girl’s question with your own question. Yet all that did was get her to move a bit closer, trying to figure out if you were lying to her. When Miyeon seemed to have gotten her answer, she settled down beside you again, pushing her freshly curled locks over her shoulder.

“I don’t know… our schedules have been pretty packed lately, and you looked pretty tired at the beginning. But now you’re like, all smiles all of the time. I thought that maybe something good happened,” the younger one explained.

“Something good? Did Seongwu finally propose?” Eunbi inquired coming to join the two of you now that her makeup and hair was done. Granted, in true Eunbi fashion, she just spouted out the first thing that came to mind and that got some of the other girls to gather.

“Seongwu-oppa proposed?!” Mina asked sitting on the back of the couch when she came scrambling over with a couple of the other girls.

You threw Eunbi a glare in the process and your friend only shrugged her shoulders in response. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that the two of you were the same age and for the fact that you were close, you probably wouldn’t have put up with it. But, she had been one of the people that supported you, alongside with Seongwu, of following your want to be a manager instead of staying as a trainee. She was a good friend… but also a troublemaker. “He didn’t propose. Eunbi is just being Eunbi,” you said flatly.

“So then, why do you look so happy lately?” Miyeon asked, wanting to get a straight answer out of you. Mina also chimed in that she had noticed that you seemed happier lately, and you almost couldn’t believe it. Did you really change?

Miyeon was right, everyone, both the staff and the artist had been pretty tired lately. The girls were gaining interest from the industry and so the number of love calls trying to get them onto shows had increased. But the company wasn’t a big one, so getting enough staff members to cover everything was difficult. It meant that a lot of you had to pick up the slack in some areas, and that definitely had taken a toll on all of you.

But the girls had said that you looked happier lately…and you wondered if maybe… it was these letters from Seongwu. You had only gotten through two of them, but maybe something about his effort in putting this little gift together, and just remembering your time together, just made you feel better? It was hard to say, but you did know that he made you happy, and maybe it was just showing in other parts of your life.

So, you let the girls in on Seongwu’s little gift for you before he went overseas. You were met with a chuckle from Eunbi as she commented on how much of a cheesy romantic he was, to which you agreed. But the other girls cooed over his efforts, calling him sweet and telling you that you were extremely lucky. You supposed that was true as well. He was definitely sweet to you, and he often made you wonder how you had landed someone so incredible. He was someone that always motivated you to do better. He just… meant the world to you.

Before the girls could bombard you with any more questions, one of their other managers came in to let them know they were on standby. And just like that, the talk of your letters came to an end, and you all went back to work…

\---

The day hadn’t been as bad as others. The girls finished up their recording, you and the managers took them to lunch, and now they were back in the practice room, working with their choreographer on a new routine that they would be performing to a song that would accompany their goodbye stage the next week.

You were in charge of watching over the girls today as they did what they needed to. The other managers were busy working with the company to sort out their upcoming schedules, making sure that it was feasibly something that you could all do. This, of course, meant that you had some time to yourself. There wasn’t much you could do while you were in that practice room, so you reached into your bag and gingerly pulled out one of those familiar envelopes, the current date scrolled on top of it.

_When you admitted that you liked me too, I was over the moon. It felt like everything was going right. Not only did I get to spend even more time with you, but I was also able to call you mine. Thing was, I never felt like I was able to give you much when we started dating. I was working a bunch of odd jobs just to make ends meet. I didn’t feel like I could give you everything that I knew you deserved, mostly with how supportive you were of me, how much you helped me while I was a trainee at that company._

_And then one day, it dawned on me that we had never really gone on a proper date. We were always so busy as trainees that we would just go down the street to the convenience store to grab dinner. But I wanted to take you to that restaurant that you really liked. It wasn’t anything expensive, but it was still a bit much for me to afford back then. I thought it was a place that we could walk to, but it turned out that I had looked up the wrong restaurant. You paid dessert… and the ride back. I felt pretty terrible that you had to do that when I was the one that planned the date, to begin with. But your actions really warmed my heart. It made me fall for my love even more…_

Ah, your first date was definitely… it was a good time…

“Hey,” Seongwu said after he had plopped his head down into your lap, looking up at you while you pressed away at your phone screen. The two of you were in the practice room alone, waiting for some of the other trainees to show up so that you could start working on your routine. Now that the two of you were together, Seongwu was more outwardly expressive with his skinship, even to the point where he made some of the trainees roll their eyes at him. He didn’t care, as he knew that you enjoyed it, even if you didn’t outwardly admit it.

You hummed gently in response, sending the message you had been typing away at before you placed the phone down, looking now at your boyfriend who seemed rather comfy in his new spot. “Yes, Seongwu,” you said gently, hand gently playing with his hair.

His small smile grew now that he knew he had your attention. “I realized the other night that I’ve never taken you on an official date. Where do you want to go?” he asked.

You made a bit of a face at him. “So, basically spending this much time with each other and going to get dinner together… none of it was a real date?” you inquired, interested in your boyfriend’s logic.  You had learned in the last few months that Seongwu had some very interesting ways of thinking. You accepted him for it, but it was pretty entertaining.

“I mean, but it wasn’t an official date? Like, when we go out to eat, either the others come with or we do it because we’re starving. We already spend a lot of time together, but I’m talking about going and doing something together. Like going out and getting food at some place that isn’t that tiny convenience store owned by Mr. Lee. Come on, what do you want to do?” he insisted, gently reaching up to grasp your hand. “I want to do something nice for you.”

Seongwu’s gesture was sweet. He was always trying to take such good care of you, almost to the point where it was a little too much sometimes. Not in a bad way, just that you felt like you didn’t reciprocate all of his efforts. You felt bad. “Other than the fact that we’re pretty broke, there’s really nowhere I feel like I need to go. I like this, Seongwu. I like just spending time with you.”

He let out a light sigh as he sat up after catching sight of the clock, knowing that the other trainees would be arriving soon. He looked at you with a small pout. “Fine, but I’m going to think of something, okay?” he said, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead before getting up to do his stretches, you quickly following suit.

Seongwu dropped the conversation of your first date for a few of days, but it was no surprise to you when he declared that the two of you would be going on your first date that night. He told you that it was an opportune time because you weren’t working that night and neither was he. The two of you didn’t have any practice planned, so it was the opportune time. Now having anything you could use as an excuse, you agreed, going home right after practice to change into something a little nicer before going to meet your boyfriend at his dorm.

“So Romeo, where are you taking me on our ‘first date’?” you asked, walking down the street with Seongwu, hand in hand.

His smile grew to the point where his eyes formed crescent shapes. “I am going to treat you to a meal at that restaurant you’re always talking about. Now, before you protest, I got paid today, and it should be more than enough for us to get a nice meal. I don’t want you to worry about tonight, okay? I am going to treat my lovely girlfriend to the most amazing meal,” he announced, peppering the side of your head in kisses.

Though you enjoyed the affection, you couldn’t help but furrow your brow a bit. “I mean, we can do that if you want, but if so, we’ll have to get a ride there,” you said, which got Seongwu to stop his onslaught of kisses.

“What do you mean,” he started, looking at you with a look that was between confusion and panic. “Isn’t it the one down the street from here?”

You smiled gently, almost not having the heart to break it to him, though you knew that you had to say something. “That one has a similar name… but the one I like it actually across town? But Seongwu, we don’t have to go there, we can just eat around here,” you insisted, not wanting to make him go out of his way to make this happen.

Though Seongwu quickly shook his head in response. “No, no, if that’s the one you like, that’s the one we’ll go to,” he said firmly, leading you over to one of the busier roads where the taxi service was always available for those that needed it. He let you give the driver the address, and just like that, the two of you were off.

It didn’t take you long to get to the restaurant and to your luck, even though it was pretty packed, they had a table for two available. You were quickly seated and the two of you were pretty quick to order, though, you probably ordered a bit too much for two people. When you had brought that up to Seongwu he denied it. “Look, we aren’t going to do this often. We’ll eat more than enough today, and then go back to snacks for the next while. This is a treat for both of us.”

And as you waited for your order to come out, you talked amongst yourselves like you usually did. You told Seongwu about your friend, Jooyeon, who had just broken up with her boyfriend about a month ago and was now thinking about dating again. Seongwu had suggested that you set her up with one of his friends, and though double dates were fun, you also didn’t want to be responsible if this relationship also ended in failure. “Maybe not with Jooyeon,” you had told him, and it seemed like Seongwu got the hint.

In turn, Seongwu told you mostly about work, the random jobs that he had picked up to make some extra money. He mostly emphasized the handful of modeling gigs that he managed to pick up. Honestly, you weren’t surprised that they would want to hire Seongwu. Maybe it was your rose-colored lenses for your boyfriend, but he definitely had the look of a model. He’d fit right into whatever it was that they needed him to model.

“Don’t worry, I won’t dump you for another model,” he teased, watching as you raised you looked at him in surprise. “Oh come on, I could see it on your face when I mentioned it. Kind of cute how jealous you got.”

“I’m not… jealous,” you said slowly, though you could tell that your boyfriend didn’t seem to believe you. Lucky for you, your food came out at that moment, saving you from having to endure his endless teasing for the time being.

The meal was the most incredible thing that either of you had in a long time. It was filling, and likely too much food as the ajummas that ran the establishment had taken a liking to your boyfriend and kept giving you sides, but it was well worth it. After all, Seongwu was right. When was the next time the two of you would do this again?

When you had finished eating and found the will to stand up, you headed to the front, Seongwu paying for your meal before you left the establishment together, walking down the busy streets in hopes of digesting some of the amazing food that the two of you had just engulfed.

“I think I know why you like that place so much. They gave us so much food!” Seongwu said letting out a soft noise as you walked side by side.

You giggled softly. “They usually don’t give that much food. I think they just thought you were handsome,” you retorted, making him smirk.

“I mean, I am. You are dating a complete catch,” he said proudly, watching as you rolled your eyes at him. You looked like you were about to say something to him, to tease him, but something seemed to catch your eye and Seongwu was quick to turn and see what it was. Just to his right was a little ice cream shop, which he soon realized was the source of the amazing vanilla smell that was in the air. “Want dessert?” he asked with a grin.

“Seongwu, we just finished eating that massive meal, we shouldn’t,” you argued, though with that look on his face that said, ‘when will we do this again,’ you knew that you were done for. You liked Seongwu a lot, but he really did cause you to make terrible decisions sometimes. And yet… you still made them. Such a terrible influence.

The two of you took a detour and walked into the small ice cream shop, the young girl behind the counter happily greeting the both of you. As you were looking at the different flavors of ice cream, you couldn’t help but notice Seongwu out of the corner of your eye. He seemed like he was deep in thought finger to his lip. But when he noticed your eyes on him, he quickly smiled and was at your side, asking you what you would be getting, picking something for himself.

When you had both picked what you’d like, you moved to the counter to pay, and as the girl gave the total, you could see that look of concern on Seongwu’s face again. You knew what was wrong, and so you decided to step in. You pulled your card out of your wallet and gave it to her, Seongwu looking at you with wide eyes.

He waited until the younger girl went to get your ice cream before he came up to you. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said gently. You could see the guilt in his eyes, but you knew that look well. You often had the same one when you weren’t sure if you’d have enough money for something. Seongwu had spent so much on the ride here and on dinner that you couldn’t let him pay for dessert too. It wasn’t right.

“I wanted to. You treated me to an amazing dinner, so let me treat you to dessert,” you said simply and with a small smile. You could tell that he still felt a bit uncomfortable, but before he could say anything about it, the girl called you both over to get your ice cream. You thanked her before you both exited the shop, continuing on your walk through the city with ice cream in hand.

The entire time that you had walked side by side, eating your ice cream, Seongwu had only been giving short answers whenever you asked him a question. Eventually, you stopped asking questions, knowing that he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Even when you were waiting for a taxi, he didn’t say much. When one did arrive, he gave the driver your address, saying that he’d drop you off first and walk the rest of the way back.

The silence was unbearable for you though. You didn’t like him like this. And so, while he sat there silently, looking out the window, you gently scooted over, wrapping your arms around his. “I had a good time tonight, Seongwu,” you said gently, your words honest.

They seemed to get him to snap out of his thoughts as he looked down at your with a faint smile. “I’m glad. I just feel bad that I wasn’t able to cover everything. You shouldn’t have had to cover dessert,” he said, finally letting his thoughts out.

“It’s really okay. I know you wanted to do everything, but sometimes, sometimes I’m going to have to help, and it’s okay. You give me more than enough love to make up for it,” you said gently, though you were also teasing him a bit. Hearing that chuckle from him let you know that he was feeling a bit better about it all. He gingerly took his arm away from your grasp and wrapped it around you, placing a kiss on the top of your head in thanks.

Now that you thought about it, that was probably the moment that the both of you realized that you could depend on each other. Yeah, it was just dinner and dessert, but you both became more open about your difficulties after that. That was also probably one of your favorite dates with Seongwu… as it gave you the wonderful lock screen that you still had on your phone after all of these years…


End file.
